Military Reserve~Sunday 8/30

Just a note to say that the main trailheads looked a bit better this Sunday BUT then we went to the left of the Policeman's Club House ~
AWFUL. All around the gate O.P.P. Seriously, it's the worst I've seen in Military Reserve area. I had several bags with me and used them all. This is BIG NASTY poop. Not like you can't see it.

On the positive, there were 2 women walking 6 dogs AND they were very polite and dogs were very under control. Only saw 1 leash but they were very well organized for such a large group.

almost september!

it's beautiful out there on the trails. unfortunately that means more use. margie, tracy & i cleaned up corrals 2 weeks ago and picked up this much opp (other people's poop)

margie & i were out again yesterday, thought we'd just tidy up some......... and before we knew it, we had this much opp..... nearly as much as 2 weeks ago, all very close to the trailhead (and poop bags, and trash can). off leash access is a privilege, not a right. in most cases and in most places, things are much improved. all user groups are getting the message about being polite, dog owners are better at following leash laws and, in many places, picking up. i know it's always worse this time of year. red fox is another prime example. every monday, after the weekend warriors are out, the trail is nasty.

i know i'm preaching to the choir here, but we need to figure out a way to keep reminding people that they need to pick up. just because we haven't yet lost access doesn't mean that we won't.

anyway, i will be out with extra bags & extra time tomorrow to clean up along red fox & chickadee. busy this morning- 13 folks with dogs (just think, if each of those people picked up 2 extra piles the trails would be in great shape....) and 5 without.

most dogs leashed where necessary- except for one who was evidently swimming with the ducks & frogs in the fenced off flood retention pond. the owner was leaning over the rail doing the fishwife scream. a move i am very familiar with thanks to tara ra bouvier. it never did work very well, and i always felt kind of stupid once i realized what i was doing, but it's hard to stop yourself when you need your dog to come back & they are blithely ignoring you. this is why i vowed to have dogs with recall this time around. (thanks paula! you rock!). there was one other dog off leash in the on area- a husky running with her owner. running on heel and not bothering anyone or anything.

otherwise, the dogs we passed who were leashed were also in a heel and we all passed just fine on the trail, no fuss, no muss.

the park was deserted at 7:45. no kids anywhere.
happy trails! have a great week!

friday!

another beautiful morning!

and busy- 10 with, 9 without. all following leash laws & polite, most keeping their dogs close unless told it was ok.

traffic jam! i am often guilty of this sort of thing- stopping in the middle of the trail to talk to someone. i try not to do it, but we all space & are less than thoughtful on occasion. so here's a gentle reminder- good idea to get off to the side of the trail for a visit. especially if there are dogs involved.

no kids on the trails or in the park..... in fact, parks was mowing the grass when i went by at 7:45 (and when we entered the park too). my guess is that they try to schedule mowing around lower use times.

have a great weekend all!

wed, aug 26

another beautiful if busy, morning. i had time this am to do a bit of opp (other people's poop) scooping along the entrance from camel's back. good thing, it needed it.

10 without dogs, 8 with. had the lovely experience of walking by 3 other leashed dogs and everyone behaving just fine. when no dogs are lunging it makes a huge difference.

echo got a little snarly with keene, maybe b/c i had him right next to me & he's a bit protective. or maybe he's just a jerk. but i am very comfortable that he is not dog aggressive- paula pointed out if that was the case he would go after every dog. i've had that corroborated by a few other experts. he's just noisy and grumpy. and we're working on it.

and camel's back around 7:45. no kids on trails or in the park.

happy trails!

tuesday

beautiful skies this morning!

what a sunrise!

yet another sunflower against the sky photo... they'll stop soon, promise!

fairly busy- 10 without, 4 with. i was so excited- this man & his dog ran by us on a fairly wide part of the trail. he kept his dog in a heel, and i kept mine close to me, and we all passed, off leash, easy as pie! woo hoo! halle thought about visiting, but when i told her off, she stayed with me. i loooooove progress- from both my dogs & the runner who had his dog under control.

and the park- no kids in sight on trails or in the park- unless you count the big ones with their tree climbing gear.

happy trails!

monday monday

yikes! what a monday it's been!

started off great, though.... 5 with, 8 without, all following the rules & friendly


always love to see the hawks flying over

and at 7:20, here's camel's back. no kids seen in the park or on the trails....

friday!

these bag holders are along a greebelt in ft worth. it looks like they have local businesses sponsor the stations. it's also very visible and has the disead reminder on it. always interesting to see how different communities hanlde these things.
pups glad to be out today. 10 without (about 5 groups of bikers) and 5 with. everyone polite, following rules.

camel's back at 7:45- no kids visible on trails or in the park.

happy trails! have a great weekend!

TGIF!

The 2 jacks and I walked at Military Reserve this morning. Took the trail that is to the left of the Policeman's Clubhouse. (more like a road)~

No dog poop but LOTS of scat! The view of the trail across the little canyon is fabulous. I saw many bikers and runners with dogs interacting and everyone seemed to get along smashingly!

Saw bikers stopping and putting their foot down NOT braiding the trails. "Good mornings" could be heard as well.

It's nice to be out there and see people being considerate of one another.

The only big disturbance this a.m. were the policeman driving like mad men up the road to get to the clubhouse.

Happy Friday :)

positive trail experience

received this email from Julia Grant yesterday and am happy to be able to share it:

I got a call from a foothills user who is not a dog owner, but was dogsitting this weekend and took the puppy on leash on the Seamans Gulch trail. She said most dogs were onleash and the two that were off leash were in voice control and stayed close by their owners. She only saw 2 piles of dog poop near the end of the trail. It was a very good experience compared to previous experiences she's had witnessing improper dog behavior on trails. I asked her if I could share this with you and she said sure.

it is so great to get this kind of feedback, and wonderful that this person bothered to call with a compliment!

another beautiful day!

loved the way the light looked, and the story told by all of the tracks-a lot of people use the trail in a variety of ways.....

beautiful swirly clouds at the beginning of our walk

the sky was almost turquoise. i know that i shoot from this same spot almost daily, but i love it- and the owyhees were especially visible this morning.........

i couldn't get a clean shot of this dove, but the coloring was beautiful and she did wait patiently for me to figure out what shot would sort of work :)

7 with & 7 without- all following rules, all polite & friendly- saw paula & laurie, and laurie, and ginger-

camel's back at 7:45. no kids in sight, on trail or in the park...

happy trails-

poop scoopin sunday & monday morning

first off, thanks to margie & tracy (and halle, echo, benny & jackson) for helping clean up corrals yesterday.

there was plenty of old poop (no, it doesn't just break down & go away- not very quickly, anyway), trash- including lots of broken glass down the hill to the right of the trail shortly past the gate from the bogus entrance. we picked up as many large pieces as we could, but there's plenty left to cut paws up.

here's the haul from the trailhead off bogus. the lower trailhead from the parking lot wasn't nearly as bad.

found this interesting info on why poop should be picked up. dog waste does differ from that of herbivores- cattle, sheep, horses. i guess that if properly composted it can be used in gardens, but it takes special handling & isn't anything i want to try!

as an fyi, the green bags in the dispensers are biodegradable, and there are also biodegradable bags available at the coop and in various places online.

on to today- beautiful morning!

looks like purple loosestrife, a noxious weed, in the pond area.

6 with, 3 without. all dogs leashed as needed, all trail users pleasant.

camel's back at 7:33.... no kids on the trails or in the park.

happy trails!

Military Reserve

http://www.sunvalleyonline.com/news/article.asp?ID_Article=7320

Hello! Had a lovely hike at Military Reserve today. Picked up more poop. Again, in the middle of the trail. One pile was high up on the ridge. :(

On the positive, Kenai, Jacklean and I met a wonderful Corgi who's owner leashed her when she saw us and asked if it was ok to unleash her when we got close enough to chat. Corgi was so friendly and very well behaved - as was the owner! Most everyone we encountered today was friendly and thanked us for leashing up and stepping aside.

We crossed paths with a lizard today too!

I posted the link above in case anyone knows anyone or is interested in the animals in the article.

thursday aug 13

gorgeous thursday morning. 6 with, 15 without (one of who has a dog at home recovering from surgery, or she'd be a with). everyone polite, all rules followed, good mornings & thank yous abounding.

wonderful swirly clouds

rabbitbrush starting to bloom- which makes me think fall is on the way...... i do love rabbitbrush- right up there with buckwheat!

the gratuitous sunflower shot for the day

walking out i saw 2 people with their (leashed) dogs looking at something. good thing, i would have walked right by this guy. we all stopped & stood and enjoyed his/her presence for a few minutes, until the bird flew off.

would love to know what sort of hawk (or hawklike bird, to use bird book terminology) this is, so please share if you know.

camel's back at 7:45. no kids on trails or in park today.

happy trails!